How About Every Cliché in the Book
by NiffAreForever
Summary: In which Anders and Mitchell have been in a relationship for nearly a year, yet still haven't had their first proper date. Mitchell is going to remedy that, even if his boyfriend isn't particularly enthusiastic about the prospect.


**A/N: Somehow I managed to write this pairing without using a single swear word or including any smut so I hope that the characterisations are alright :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Being Human (UK) or The Almighty Johnsons.**

* * *

For once, Anders considered that it had been a good day. He'd got to work at a reasonably time that morning, which basically meant that it was before midday and he wasn't half asleep; and he'd successfully got another client onboard, bringing their total number of clients up to a level higher than complete failure. He'd always found it so frustrating when he lost a client. It wasn't that he was bad at PR, he was really exceptionally good, just if only work didn't consist of actually getting up and going to his office, then maybe he'd find it enjoyable.

Instead, he'd made Dawn pleased for once. As he'd left, she'd given him a genuine smile and told him to say hello to Mitchell for her. He'd replied in kind and told her to give her cat a hello from him. He'd missed whatever it was she'd said in response to that remark.

And speaking of Mitchell, where was his boyfriend? Anders had been standing in the doorway to his apartment for well over five minutes now and the other man had yet to even yell some sort of muffled greeting back at him; it had happened before when Mitchell had managed to wedge himself halfway down the back of the sofa while trying to retrieve the television remote.

"Mitchell?" he called, wondering whether the vampire was taking a nap or something and needed waking. "Mitchell?"

Upon discovering that the vampire was not anywhere in the apartment, Anders sat down heavily on the sofa and proceeded to consider exactly where his boyfriend could have ended up; it was quite hard to lose a nearly six foot tall Irishman really.

Now, he couldn't be at work, Anders prided himself on actually remembering Mitchell's schedule, even if he could never remember his own. Then again, he didn't need to, he had Dawn for that.

Anders considered that maybe Mitchell had gone down to the supermarket to buy some proper food, their cupboards and fridge had all been rather empty recently and for some strange reason, the vampire had decided that they'd had enough takeaway pizza. Anders would never understand where that had come from, but then again, he'd come home a few nights ago to find the other man hunched over an old recipe book set on the counter, so perhaps he'd decided to try cooking something. Anders had been more concerned about where the cookery book had come from than his boyfriend's culinary skills, but maybe he should have taken more notice.

Still, he gave the vampire half an hour before he would call and demand to know exactly where he had wandered off to without leaving any indication as to where he had gone. Meanwhile, he headed into their bedroom in order to find himself some more comfortable clothes to wear before he would probably settle down for the evening in front of the television.

But as he was pulling his tie off he was met with a sight that he was mildly surprised that he hadn't noticed beforehand since, spread out on the bed, was a fresh set of clothes and a handwritten note. Clearly Mitchell had not just left without a single word.

Eyeing the purple shirt and smart trousers with slight suspicion, he picked up the note and frowned deeply at the messy scrawl which was his boyfriend's handwriting. Mitchell might not have been able to see his reflection for nearly one hundred years, but Anders wondered whether he'd failed to be able to see his atrocious handwriting as well; it looked like a spider had crawled across the page and suffered a horrific injury.

Fortunately though, it didn't take too long to be deciphered. Apparently Mitchell wanted Anders to put the outfit on and be ready by 5:30pm, which gave the blond god just over half an hour. He could do that, although Mitchell had written that there would be consequences if his wishes weren't obeyed, to which Anders had debated defying his boyfriend just to see what the consequences were.

But his mind still had doubts as to what this was all about. Mitchell had even signed the note with a "love, John", and since the vampire rarely referred to himself by his first name and had only recently stopped protesting when Anders used it, he was clearly trying to butter the other man up as best he could.

It worked though, and Anders obliged, having been feeling rather generous anyway. And so at half past five, he found himself sitting on the sofa in the trousers and purple shirt, staring at the front door and wonder what his boyfriend was up to.

And then, when he finally realised, he was half a second away from practically tearing the clothes off and deliberately changing into the most casual outfit he had just to spite the vampire and ruin his evening, when the buzzer for the door went off.

* * *

Mitchell had been having a stressful half an hour. Who knew that you couldn't just buy a bunch of flowers and walk out of a shop having paid for them? Who knew that there were meanings behind different flowers and their arrangements? In hindsight, he probably should have learnt this over his long life, but he'd never really considered buying anyone flowers before; who would buy someone flowers before they became their next meal? It wouldn't exactly be a suitable apology.

Finally, he'd selected a bunch and paid for them, the elderly lady behind the till smiling broadly at him, even though the vampire actually had no idea what the flowers he was holding even were, but they looked nice, so he supposed that was alright.

"You remind me of my grandson," the elderly lady was saying now, "He wanted flowers the other week, chose of those over there."

She motioned towards some pink flowers in the corner, and Mitchell couldn't help but picture Anders' face if he turned up on their doorstep with pink flowers; although he was still wondering what Anders' reaction would be to any flowers at all, including the ones he was currently holding.

"Yes, you're very like my grandson," the lady was still talking, "Such a handsome boy, and so nice like you." Mitchell really didn't think that she'd be saying that if she knew what he'd done over the years, but he gave her a winning smile anyway. "Well, I hope that your young man likes those flowers," she continued, "I think I've seen the two of you pass by here before, such a nice couple you make."

Mitchell was now wishing that he'd brought Anders with him to the flower shop just to watch him squirm at the woman's compliments, though his boyfriend would probably have charmed her even without Bragi's influence.

Finally, he was able to thank the woman for her time and escape the shop before hurrying back to his and Anders' apartment in time for half past five.

* * *

Anders just knew that it was Mitchell as soon as the buzzer went, and grudgingly he went to let his boyfriend in, however much he wanted to just leave him out there. He kept reminding himself of how well his day had gone so far, even if the vampire had suddenly decided that after nearly a year of dating they should go on an _actual_ date.

So what if they'd never been on a date before? Not all relationships had to start that way, did they? He and Mitchell weren't exactly the sort of couple to go on dates, it had taken them a rather extensive period of time to admit to each other and themselves that they were boyfriends, having been stuck in that indeterminate stage of very-close-friends-who-have-feelings-for-each-other-but-don't-know-what-to-do-with-those-feelings for quite while.

And now the vampire had made him dress up for an evening out and was waiting for him to open the door to him instead of using his own key.

Anders reached the door and turned the handle, considering that he wouldn't even be surprised if he found his boyfriend standing on the other side with a bunch of…oh wait, too late…

"Flowers?" was the first thing out of Anders' mouth when he caught sight of Mitchell clutching the bunch in both hands rather apprehensively as he gave the blond god a nervous smile.

"Yeah, um, surprise?" he tried, watching Anders raise an eyebrow at him.

"Seriously, Mitchell, flowers?" the blond repeated.

"Yes, flowers," the vampire replied, fully prepared for the resistance he was currently receiving. "I thought that if we were going to do the whole dating thing, then I'd go for every cliché in the book."

Anders sighed.

"Of course you did," he said, not being able to stop himself from reaching for the flowers regardless of how much he wanted to resist. Seriously, who was he to say no when clearly Mitchell wanted to do this?

But just as his fingers touched the stems, he found the flowers being pulled just out of reach. He made a small noise of annoyance and glared up at his boyfriend, who just grinned happily.

"Maybe I could have a 'thank you, Mitchell' kiss first?" the vampire suggested, to which Anders just regarded him dryly.

"Oh," he said, teasing a little, "So you're the sort of guy who kisses even before the first date, huh? Sorry, but I'm not that easy, maybe if you take me somewhere nice and buy me dinner though, I'll reconsider." So maybe he could do this whole dating thing.

Mitchell actually pouted at that, but he still received a light kiss on the cheek for his troubles, before he handed the flowers over. Much to his delight, the blond insisted on finding a glass of water to put them in and then placing them in the middle of table, announcing that he'd find a permanent home for them later, even if Mitchell thought that they looked rather nice where they were.

"So, where are we going then?" Anders asked, ever curious as to where Mitchell had in mind for their date; and he didn't particularly like not being in control, even if the vampire was the only one he would ever relinquish his control too.

"It's a surprise," Mitchell replied, once they'd left the apartment and made it to Anders' car. "Ah, your carriage awaits, sir," he teased, taking his boyfriend's arm and steering him towards the passenger seat.

The blond god rolled his eyes.

"You do realise that this is my car, right?" he said.

Mitchell laughed.

"Obviously, just get in, will you?" he said, crossing around the driver's side once the blond was seated.

"And why can't I drive?" Anders asked.

"Because you don't know where we're going."

"I would do if you told me. I know Auckland much better than you do; we'll be lost within minutes if you drive."

"I have looked up the place using a map, you know?"

"Well, since when have you ever driven, anyway?"

"Since about five minutes ago when I got into this car."

"Do you even have a licence?"

"They tend to require photographs for identification, so I guess not."

"Any other laws you want to break this evening? How about we skip this date and break into someone's house instead?

Mitchell sighed.

"Just stop complaining, Anders, it'll be fine."

There was a moment of silence in which the vampire contemplated victory before the blond god spoke up again.

"Well, I just hope that we don't get pulled over by the police because I'm not explaining not only why you don't have a licence, but also why they can't see you in the mirrors."

Mitchell resisted repeatedly banging his head against the steering wheel in frustration, and instead put the vehicle into reverse and pulled out of the parking space.

* * *

The restaurant was only half an hour away, down by the dockside with a nice view of the boats; they didn't call Auckland the "City of Sails" for nothing, Mitchell supposed. It wasn't too expensive or posh, just a little more fancy than they usually went for, if they ate out at all and didn't just get a takeaway. It also didn't have the atmosphere that Anders usually found at the restaurants he frequented with clients, instead, this place felt relaxed and calm, something both men were grateful for.

"Did you book in advance?" the woman at the door asked, and Mitchell nodded in return.

"Mitchell," he replied, "For two."

The woman tapped something into the computer screen in front of her and made an affirmative noise.

"Here we go," she said, "Follow me, please."

She took them to a table by own of the windows, a perfect view of the bay spread out in front of them, though both Anders and Mitchell would rather focus on each other than an expanse of water.

Their waitress was friendly and pleasant. She gave them the sort of smile which is reserved for couples on dates; even if she looked barely into her twenties, she still made both of them feel as nervous as teenagers when told to enjoy their night. Anders just hoped that she didn't tell them what a lovely couple they made, because then he might have to withhold the tip that he was planning to leave otherwise.

The food was good too, so good in fact that Anders made a mental note to find out if they did takeaway for future reference.

And the company, well, Anders considered the company to be the best he could have. He hadn't realised how nice a date with Mitchell would actually be; a chance to sit down and just chat over their food about anything at all. They talked about some of the most mundane subjects they could both come up with, such as the sport on the television that neither of them were really interested in, or Mitchell's tales of George's mishaps, but it was still enjoyable, maybe because it was just the two of them together. And holding the vampire's hand under the table felt just right too.

They paid for their meal, and then headed back to the car, Mitchell taking the driver's seat again.

"I can drive now," Anders was still apprehensive about giving up the control of his car, "I know the way home."

"We're not going home just yet," Mitchell replied, "If we're fulfilling ever cliché possible, then I think that there's just one more for us to try." He glanced across at his boyfriend's frown. "Oh, come on, you might like it."

Anders just made a rather noncommittal sound which confirmed to Mitchell that the blond was only trying his best to make it seem as though he didn't care, even if truly he did.

Just twenty minutes later they were pulling into a parking space on the side of the road, the bay stretched out before them as the vampire got out and motioned for Anders to do the same.

"You really pulled out all the stops for this one, didn't you?" the blond god commented dryly, looking out at the beach in front of them. It was deserted at nearly eight at night, and the moonlight that settled on the sand and water made the entire scene look very inviting. "Don't tell me that there's a picnic or something waiting somewhere for us."

Mitchell laughed at that.

"We've just eaten," he said, "But if you really want, I'm sure that it's not too late to phone Ty and ask him to sort something out."

Anders responded by punching him lightly on the arm.

"Come on," the vampire smiled, taking his boyfriend's hand and leading him down onto the sand. "Let's just go for a walk."

And so they did.

They walked in comfortable silence for ten minutes, just leaning slightly on each other and revelling in the familiarity; even if Anders was sure that there was sand in his shoes.

"So, where did this whole date idea come from then?" the blond asked, suddenly curious as he pulled both of them to a halt in the middle of the sand.

Mitchell gave him a fond smile.

"It was a bit of a spur of the moment kind of thing," he replied.

"I'd never have guessed," was the quick reply, although the vampire was unfazed by the interruption.

"I was talking with Annie yesterday and something came up about George and dates," he began to explain, "And then she asked what sort of thing we did when we went on dates, so I mentioned that we'd never actually been on a proper date, and she practically flipped out at me. She kept going on and on about how we had to have had at least one date, and why hadn't I taken you on a date when we'd first started a relationship, and stuff like that. So, I promised her that I'd take you on a date, mostly just to get her to calm down and save George from days on end of copious cups of teas, and then, when I thought about it more, it sounded like a really good idea."

Anders allowed himself a real, genuine smile at that. It was the sort of smile he reserved for Mitchell, and Dawn on occasions, only. It was reserved for moments when he didn't mind revealing himself and his feelings without having to worry about them being used against him.

He wished that he could use that smile more often around his own family.

"You know," he said, looking up at his boyfriend, "I'm really glad that Annie gave you the idea, because I've really enjoyed this evening."

Mitchell grinned.

"I'm glad," he said, "Because I've enjoyed it too. Maybe we should do it again sometimes."

Anders shoved him.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he warned but his voice held a teasing tone.

They walked on for another couple of minutes before Anders spoke again.

"Speaking of Annie and George, how are they?"

"Same as ever," Mitchell answered, "Annie keeps saying how much she wants to meet you."

"She has met me."

"She means that she wants to meet you properly, not as we both rush out the door to go to the airport because I've suddenly made a spur of the moment decision to come back to New Zealand with you."

"I'm surprised that they don't hate me for taking you away like that."

"Nah," Mitchell shook his head, "I needed to get away from Bristol; I needed to clear my head and go somewhere new. They were just glad that it was with someone I cared about and not just me running away on whichever flight I could find."

"And have you cleared your head enough to go back for a bit?" Anders asked suddenly, taking Mitchell by surprise.

"What? Why would I go back?"

"Not permanently, of course," Anders continued with a grin, "Just for, you know, a holiday. If you want to go back, and they want to meet me, then let's just go to England for a bit."

The vampire looked back at him in disbelief, his mouth dropping open a little.

"You'd book us flights to England just like that?" he asked, "What about the cost? Or your family?"

Anders waved his hand dismissively.

"JPR are having a good time right now," he said, "Just give me a couple of weeks to sort some stuff out with some new clients, and then I can take a long overdue holiday; Dawn'll understand and hold down the fort while we're away. And as for my family? I'm positively excited to tell Mike that I won't be around to fix his troubles for a little while."

"You don't know how much this means to me," Mitchell smiled, and Anders smiled in return.

"I can make a pretty good guess," he replied.

Mitchell didn't even need to say thank you, the way in which he wrapped the shorter man up in his arms and kissed him soundly relayed the words for him with much more sentiment than his voice could have managed.

* * *

And so, some time later that night found them back in their apartment, a late night television programme playing in the background, while they both curled up on the sofa. Anders was dressed in a pair of nearly worn out pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt which he was pretty sure had once been owned by Mitchell before he'd stolen it because it was just so comfortable; and the vampire had on an unbuttoned checked shirt and a pair of shorts.

"We're cuddling on the sofa," Anders remarked quietly, "That's another cliché, isn't it?"

"It's nice cliché though," Mitchell replied, dropping a kiss onto the blond god's head, where it was tucked between his chin and his shoulder. "I'll be back in a second." And before his boyfriend could protest, he had untangled their limbs and was heading towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Anders asked, peering over the side of the sofa as Mitchell picked up the kettle and started filling it with water.

The vampire looked up at him and grinned.

"If you're going to meet Annie," he said, "Then I'd better start getting you used to drinking a lot of tea."


End file.
